Department of Education

Tasmania Together Activity Report
As at 30 June 2011, the Department of Education had the coordinating agency responsibility for the following
Tasmania Together benchmarks.
GOAL 1: A reasonable lifestyle and standard of living for all Tasmanians
Standard 1.2: Improve access to accredited care services for dependants
1.2.1 Child care availability: number of licensed places
Child care
licensing
and
accreditation
The number of child care places is determined by market forces. Target figures for future years are established
annually on advice about new services or the expansion of existing services. In May 2011, the number of licensed
child care services was 272. The number of places in licensed, centre-based services was 16,765.
The Australian Government requires that long day care, family day care and outside school hours care are quality
assured and accredited through the National Childcare Accreditation Council.
During 2010–11, the department’s Child Care Unit met the state’s responsibility for licensing and standards.
From January 2012, long day care, family day care and outside school hours will be regulated through the
National Quality Framework which brings accreditation and licensing together into the one streamlined system.
The state will undertake this new regulatory role for Tasmania.
Contribution towards the benchmark
The state government remains committed to processes that enable families to access high quality child care
services.
Data gathered for 2010–11 indicated an increase of 528 places from the previous year. This increase is despite a
reduction in the overall number of licensed child care services. There continues to be a decrease in the number
of licensed ‘occasional care’ centre-based child care places.
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Appendices – Tasmania Together Activity Report – Goal 1